Rethinking Russia, founded in 2015, is the second time ranked in the Global Go To Think Tank Index, which is annually issued by Dr. James McGann and his Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program of the University of Pennsylvania.

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has said that he will take a decision about a meeting with Jon Huntsman, US envoy to Russia, only after the American embassy in Moscow has sent an official request to Russia’s Parliament. At the same time, Volodin commented on the issue.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that traditional Islam is an essential component of Russia’s cultural code, and the Muslim Ummah is, without any reservation, a very important part of multiethnic Russia.

One year ago Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th U.S. President. Throughout the last year there have been published numerous books about him and his presidency. Rethinking Russia reviews the latest ones.

The spikes in violence and instability in Nagorno-Karabakh are far from over, however, experts believe that 2018 will be more stable for the region than 2016 and 2017. Are there any grounds for a diplomatic resolution of the long-standing conflict?

The Catalonian crisis is far from over. Despite the victory of the Catalonian separatists on the December 21 parliamentary election, there is no clarity about the future of the local government (the Generalitat). It remains to be seen if the incoming government will be able to come up with a compromise with official Madrid.

The campaign of Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia (two consecutive terms from January 2004 to November 2013) and the ex-governor of Ukraine’s Odessa region (2015-2016), against Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko reached its apex and now it is close to the end.

The 13th annual press conference of Vladimir Putin in Moscow was attended by an unprecedented number of accredited Russian and foreign journalists. The discussion focused on Russia’s foreign and domestic policy, upcoming presidential elections, economy, social development, pensions, regional issues as well as the range of other topics.

The State Duma has once again demonstrated its capability to play an active role in the international arena and set its own agenda when it comes to determining country’s foreign policy priorities. The event that took place in the Russian Parliament’s lower chamber December 4 was a non-routine one. The International conference “Parliamentarians Against Drugs” was held for the first time. It was attended by law-makers from 43 countries who realize the threat and, consequently, the need to counter it by joint efforts.